The European Central Bank’s Inflation Conundrum

November 6, 2013

By JACK EWING

The New York T imes

FRANKFURT — The European Central Bank will meet on Thursday under renewed pressure to do more to stimulate the Continent’s sluggish economies, as evidence grows that the recovery is failing to pick up speed and that inflation has fallen so low as to become worrisome.

Mario Draghi, the president of the central bank, has already used a mix of threats, promises and cheap money to avoid a euro zone breakup and to help the most financially troubled governments get access to the borrowing they need. Now a growing chorus is hoping the central bank will signal a willingness to step in again.

Greece's PPC threatens to ditch top client Aluminium in price row

ATHENS Thu Nov 7, 2013 3:50pm EST

Nov 7 (Reuters) - Greece's dominant electricity producer PPC threatened on Thursday to ditch its biggest customer, Aluminium SA, upping the ante in a five-year row between the two firms over power supply prices.

The dispute, which threatens to disrupt production at Aluminium, southeast Europe's biggest aluminum smelter, is emblematic of the confused state of Greece's power market, one of the problems Athens needs to fix as part of its bailout by the International Monetary Fund and European Union.

Those Depressing Germans

November 3, 2013

The New York Times

By PAUL KRUGMAN

German officials are furious at America, and not just because of the business about Angela Merkel’s cellphone. What has them enraged now is one (long) paragraph in a U.S. Treasury report on foreign economic and currency policies. In that paragraph Treasury argues that Germany’s huge surplus on current account — a broad measure of the trade balance — is harmful, creating “a deflationary bias for the euro area, as well as for the world economy.”

The Germans angrily pronounced this argument “incomprehensible.” “There are no imbalances in Germany which require a correction of our growth-friendly economic and fiscal policy,” declared a spokesman for the nation’s finance ministry.

Greek Police Raid Occupied Broadcasting Station

November 7, 2013

By NIKI KITSANTONIS

The New York Times

ATHENS — Greek riot police officers raided the headquarters of the country’s former state broadcaster, ERT, on Thursday, forcibly removing dozens of staff members who had been occupying the building since June, when the authorities abruptly shut down the organization, citing wasteful spending.

Officers entered the building north of Athens shortly after 4 a.m. and removed around 50 former employees, four of whom were briefly detained for questioning, according to a police spokesman, who said the raid went smoothly. Officers fired tear gas to disperse about 200 protesters who had gathered outside the building, but demonstrators regrouped after the officers’ departure and continued their protest.

UPDATE 1-Rain dampens latest Greek strike against austerity

Wed Nov 6, 2013 7:53am EST

* Greek labour unions hold 24-hour strike against austerity

* Lower turnout at rallies due to heavy rain, resignation

* Thousands march to parliament after troika resumes review

By Renee Maltezou

ATHENS, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Thousands of striking Greek workers marched to parliament in pouring rain on Wednesday to protest against measures imposed by foreign lenders, whose inspectors are in Athens to review the country's bailout.

De Blasio Elected Next New York City Mayor in Landslide

First Democrat to Win City Hall Since David Dinkins in 1989

The Wall Street Journal

By MICHAEL HOWARD SAUL

Updated Nov. 6, 2013 12:29 a.m. ET

Bill de Blasio won a lopsided victory in the race for New York City mayor on Tuesday night after running a populist campaign that promised New Yorkers a clear break from Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration. He is the first Democrat to capture City Hall in 24 years.

Mr. de Blasio, the city's public advocate and a former City Council member from Brooklyn, defeated Republican nominee Joe Lhota, a former chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. With 59% of precincts reporting at 11:20 p.m., Mr. de Blasio led with 73% of the vote to Mr. Lhotoa's 25%.

Anti-austerity strike brings Greece to a halt during troika visit

By Renee Maltezou

ATHENS | Wed Nov 6, 2013 6:57am GMT

(Reuters) - Greek schools shut and flights were disrupted as workers held a general strike on Wednesday to protest austerity imposed by foreign lenders, whose inspectors were in Athens to review the country's performance under its bailout.

The 24-hour walkout by Greece's largest public and private sector unions brought much of the crisis-hit country to a standstill a day after officials from the "troika" of European Commission, European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund resumed their latest bailout review.

Rehn Confident Greece to Meet Targets as Troika Talks Resume

By Marcus Bensasson & Christos Ziotis - Nov 5, 2013 3:20 PM GMT+0200

Bloomberg

European Union Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said he’s confident Greece can meet its fiscal targets as Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said the country can’t accept across-the-board wage and pension cuts.

Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras met today with the troika, comprising representatives of the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, who are back in Athens following a five-week hiatus. As he seeks to convince them that Greece is complying with its bailout terms, one disagreement involves the extent of fiscal measures needed to achieve Greek budget-deficit targets.

Athens's Love Affair With the Euro Persists

The Wall Street Journal

Nov 3 2013

“…The current crisis may be Greece's last opportunity to turn itself into an effective modern state…”

After Delay, Lenders Set To Visit Greece for Audit

November 3, 2013

REUTERS

BRUSSELS — Inspectors from Greece’s international lenders have put a postponed visit to the country back on the agenda and will return early this week after Athens made a new proposal on filling a gap of 2 billion euros in the 2014 budget, the European Commission has said.

China targets Xinhua news agency, Commerce Ministry in new graft probe

By Adam Rose

BEIJING | Mon Nov 4, 2013 8:57am GMT

(Reuters) - China has sent investigators to six more provinces and four government departments, including Xinhua news agency and the Commerce Ministry, the ruling Communist Party's corruption watchdog said on Monday, in the latest move to tackle graft.

Greek retail workers protest Sunday shopping rules

ATHENS | Sun Nov 3, 2013 9:44am EST

(Reuters) - Retail workers protested in Athens against a relaxation of rules restricting the number of Sundays a year when shops can open, a reform demanded by Greece's foreign lenders which aims to make its recession-hit economy more flexible.

After opposition from small retailers and the Orthodox Church, the government has backed away from allowing retailers to trade on any Sunday. Instead, the new rule lets them operate on seven Sundays a year, up from two now.

Golden Dawn shooting survivor could hold clues to identities of killers

Two men died in Athens drive-by shooting but third man, though badly injured, is likely to recover

Helena Smith in Athens

The Guardian, Sunday 3 November 2013 19.27 GMT

Greek counter-terrorism experts are hoping that a man who survived a drive-by shooting at a branch of the far-right Golden Dawn party in Athens will help shed light on the assailants' identity.

As supporters of the extremist group held a memorial event on the spot where two of its members were shot dead on Friday, there was growing speculation that far-left radicals, seeking revenge for the murder of an anti-fascist musician, were behind the attack.

Greeks fear more violence after Golden Dawn members shot dead

By Renee Maltezou

ATHENS | Sat Nov 2, 2013 11:22am EDT

(Reuters) - A brazen drive-by shooting that killed two young members of Greece's far-right Golden Dawn party has shocked Greeks and prompted soul-searching about whether the crisis-hit country is slipping into a "cycle of violence".

Greece's anti-terrorism force is investigating whether Friday's rush hour shooting outside the party's offices in Athens was retaliation for a fatal stabbing of an anti-fascism rapper by a Golden Dawn supporter in September, police said.

Φόνοι και εχθροί.

Όταν δολοφονήθηκε ο Π. Φύσσας σύμφωνα η εφημερίδα ΑΥΓΗ έγραφε…

…εν ψυχρώ δολοφονία με πολιτικά κίνητρα,…

…δεν είναι ο πρώτος νεκρός από την εγκληματική δράση της (Χρυσής Αυγής)

…Η Χρυσή Αυγή είναι ο δράστης

…να σαπίσουν στη φυλακή οι δράστες

…Με την εγκληματική δράση και τους εχθρούς τού κοινοβουλευτισμού και της …δημοκρατίας, πρέπει να μας χωρίζει όλους άβυσσος

…Ο φασισμός θα συντριβεί

… να ξεριζώσουμε τη δράση της εγκληματικής αυτής οργάνωσης

Για την δολοφονία των δύο μελών του ακροδεξιού κόμματος της Χρυσής Αυγής γράφει,…

…η αφαίρεση της ανθρώπινης ζωής συνιστά το ύψιστο έγκλημα

…, ο οποίος γλίτωσε τις σφαίρες, μπαίνοντας στα γραφεία…

At least two killed in shooting outside Athens Golden Dawn office

ATHENS | Fri Nov 1, 2013 2:24pm EDT

(Reuters) - At least two people were killed in a drive-by shooting outside the offices of Greece's far-right Golden Dawn party in Athens on Friday, police sources said.

The attack comes amid a crackdown by the government on the party after a self-proclaimed Golden Dawn sympathizer stabbed an anti-fascism rapper to death in September.

Golden Dawn, Greece's third most popular party according to opinion polls, said on its website that the victims were aged 20 and 23 years old. Police had not yet verified their identities and details on the shooting were not immediately available.

Spain Emerges From Two-Year Recession

The New York Times

By RAPHAEL MINDER

October 23, 2013

MADRID — Spain pulled out of a two-year recession in the third quarter, with its economy growing 0.1 percent from the previous quarter, according to preliminary data released Wednesday by the Spanish central bank.

Greek Police Say 10 Officers Have Links to Golden Dawn

By NIKI KITSANTONIS

ATHENS — The Greek police on Wednesday announced the findings of an internal investigation into suspected links between the force and the neo-fascist Golden Dawn party, which is the focus of a criminal investigation, saying that 10 officers had been linked to the party but that no signs of “organized cells” affiliated with the group had been discovered.

Web Giants Threaten End to Cookie Tracking

Balance of Power in Ad Industry at Stake as Google, Microsoft Seek to Control Web Tracking

The Wall Street Journal

By ELIZABETH DWOSKIN

Updated Oct. 28, 2013 6:50 p.m. ET

The end could be near for cookies, the tiny pieces of code that marketers deploy on Web browsers to track people's online movements, serve targeted advertising and amass valuable user profiles.

Greece says can't take any more austerity, will not be 'blackmailed'

By George Georgiopoulos

ATHENS | Mon Oct 28, 2013 11:25am EDT

(Reuters) - Greece's president used an annual commemoration of the country's stand against fascism in World War Two on Monday to warn that Athens would not yield to pressure from foreign lenders to impose more austerity.